Programs

Opening Reception + Performance | Anh Vo: Punish, Perform, Possess

Performance View of Của Chung Của Tục, 2024, at Chăm Chỉ Club. Photo by Nguyễn Công Nguyên
  • When

    6-9PM

    Friday, September 12, 2025

  • Where

    Gallery and Black Box Theater, Asian Arts Initiative

    1219 Vine Street, Philadelphia, PA

Asian Arts Initiative is proud to present Anh Vo: Punish, Perform, Possess, the artist’s first-ever gallery exhibition. Vo is a Brooklyn-based, Vietnamese performance artist, choreographer, writer, and activist. Structured as a sustained performance, Punish, Perform, Possess blends sound, video, text, and sculpture. The exhibition draws from possessive ritual motifs to explore how perceptions of power systems and ideology, such as capitalism and communism, shift as they govern individuals. Live elements evolve daily through temperature changes, time, and audience interaction, making each visit a singular experience.

Presented during the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War’s end, this exhibition continues AAI’s 2025 of Artist/Activist themes, honoring memory, trauma, and resilience through embodied practice.

On opening night at 7PM, Anh Vo will present Untitled (Break Fast), a live performance centered around a possession-style speech delivered over steaming pho broth. The ritual unfolds as Vo irons their own body, accompanied by Kristel Baldoz as a ritual assistant and live drumming by Isaac Silber. As steam rises, the performance culminates in a symbolic act of self-mutilation.

Two additional performances take place over the course of the exhibition:

10/4 Possessed by...

12/5 Untitled

Opening Reception + Performance | Anh Vo: Punish, Perform, Possess

performance

6 PM–9 PM on September 12, 2025

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